Saturday March 21, 2009
Round-robin action wrapped up at the 2009 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament Saturday afternoon.
Click here for up-to-the-minute final divisional standings.
Game 40: 1:30 pm Eastern Ontario Wild 2 vs. GNML Wolves 1
The Eastern Ontario Wild brought a close to the tournament round-robin schedule with a victory that crushed all playoff hopes for the Wolves, who could have advanced with a win. Jordan Deppisch got his Wolves on the board 2:25 into the first period producing a lead they would hold until early in the third period. The Wild brought energy to the ice following the intermission flood and tallied both the tying and go-ahead goals in the first three minutes of the frame. Francis Landers got the equalizer with the game-winner courtesy of Luc Forget. The hard-luck Wild end a tournament on a positive note with the win, but walking away with two overtime losses that kept them from advancing.
Eastern Ontario Wild Player of the Game - Phillippe Quesnel (Goaltender)
GNML Wolves Player of the Game - Eric Fraser (Goaltender)
Click here for the final game summary.
Game 39: 1:00 pm St. Catharines Falcons 4 vs. Rochester 1
The St. Catharines Falcons spoiled an immediate playoff celebration for Rochester when they beat the American squad for their first win of the tournament. Matt Moes sniped 17 seconds into the contest to put the Falcons on the board with his first of two points on the afternoon. Luke Alletzhauser replied for Rochester 1:56 into the first period to quickly tie the game and rally his bench. The Falcons saved their best performance for the second and third period where they buried Rochester with the game-winning goal scored by Aaron Taylor, his third of the tournament. Greg Jambrosich completed a three-point game when he scored a pair of insurance goals in the late second and third period to ice the game. Even with the loss, Rochester in turn advances to the Quarter Finals courtesy of a GNML Wolves loss.
St. Catharines Falcons Player of the Game - Greg Jambrosich (2 Goals and 1 Assist)
Rochester Player of the Game - Luke Alletzhauser (1 Goal)
Click here for the final game summary.
Game 38: 11:45 am Brantford 99'ers 4 vs. York Simcoe Express 5
Despite having already clinched a playoff spot, the York Simcoe Express played spoiler against the 99ers who needed a single point to advance. Barclay Goodrow got York Simcoe on the board when he scored 2:51 into the first. Derek Cowing tied things up at 5:02 of the first and would later add an assist as part of a two-point game. The Express took control and built a 4-2 lead after one period and quickly made it a three-goal lead when Jeffery DiNallo scored his fifth goal of the tournament 1:20 into the second period. Although please with the win, DiNallo knows the Express need to be better down the stretch. "We took too many penalties and came out tired in the third" DiNallo said. "But we did have good work ethic in the corners and we look forward to coming out hard next round" added DiNallo. Ryan Horvat and Jake Milligan each scored to make things interesting for the 99ers who fell just short of forcing an extra frame.
York Simcoe Express Player of the Game - Ryan Murphy (1 Goal and 3 Assists)
Brantford 99ers Player of the Game - Jake Milligan (1 Goal and 1 Assist)
Click here for the final game summary.
Game 37: 11:15 am Toronto Nationals 4 vs. Burlington Eagles 3 OT
Both teams entered this game with the opportunity to advance to the playoff round with the Eagles soaring out the gates early. They scored two in the first period from Ryan Wilkinson and Jeremy Gotzzmann putting the Nats on their heels. The Nats re-grouped after the first and battled back hard powered by big forward David Broll who scored on the power ply to cut the defecit in half before Michael Neville scored the equalizer. Patrick Volpe got his second point of the game when he scored late in the second period. It took 12:10 into the third period before captain Blake Stephenson tied the game for the Nats. In overtime, it was David Broll. "I blocked a shot on goal that deflected off my shin pads and I went far side backhand on the breakway" said Broll on his overtime heroics. "We beat good teams in our league playoffs so we knew we could compete at this tournament and felt we had a great chance to come out of our division. We just need to keep skating and throw the body next round" added Broll. The Nats face-off against the Quinte Red Devils later this afternoon.
Toronto Nationals Player of the Game - Michael Neville (1 Goal and 2 Assists)
Burlington Eagles Player of the Game - Alex Murray (Goaltender)
Click here for the final game summary.
Game 36: 10:00 am Quinte Red Devils 4 vs. Thunder Bay Kings 1
Nick Cousins led the Quinte Red Devils to their fourth win of the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament, opening up the game scoring at 2:22 of the first. With an assist from Cousins, Dylan Stavley-Watson scored the eventual game winner for Quinte in the second period at 5:41. Cousins quickly added to the scoring at 5:59 in his second goal of the game, currently leading the tournament with 10 points. Dylan Burdick notched his first goal of the tournament at 3:02, assisted by Billy Ulrick and Alex Wilson, giving the Quinte Red Devils a 4-0 lead in the third period. Thunder Bay Kings answered back with a goal from Jordan Spavor at 9:37, which was assisted by Tyler Anton and Levitt Kirkwood. The Quinte Red Devils will advance to the quarter finals late this afternoon, playing the second place team from Divison 2.
Quinte Red Devils Player of the Game - Nick Cousins (2 Goals and 1 Assist)
Thunder Bay Kings Player of the Game - Jordan Spavor (1 Goal)
Click here for the final game summary.
Game 35: 9:30 am Mississauga Senators 3 vs. TPH Thunder 2
The opening game of Saturday's round-robin action was meaningful for both teams chasing after a playoff position. TPH Defenceman Brett Curran scored first to give the Thunder the lead in the first period, a lead held for only two minutes when Mathew Campagna tied the game with his fourth goal of the tournament for the Senators. Thunder forward Michael Warner scored the only goal of the second frame, putting pressure on the Senators to rally in the third. They did just that with goals by Adam Nanji and Nathan Granitto, with the game-winner less than two minutes apart past goaltender Matt Mahalak who played strong. "There was a scramble in the middle and we grabbed the puck and went three-on-one, I took a saucer pass from Jackman (Reid) and roofed it blocker side" said Granitto, describing his goal. "The tournament has been great and it was an honour for us to qualify" added Granitto, "but it is great to be out of the round-robin and in the playoff round, we are ready to go." The Senators will face Elgin-Middlesex in the Quarter Finals.
Mississauga Senators Player of the Game - Nathan Granitto (1 Goal)
TPH Thunder Player of the Game - Matt Mahalak (Goaltender)
Click here for the final game summary.
